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The Think Tank: Do government spies scare you away from your favorite MMO?
The NSA is listening to our MMO chat logs, and I feel fine. Monday's news has sparked outrage among some gamers, while others yawn and carry on, knowing that they have nothing to fear. So I polled the Massively staff members to gather everyone's thoughts on the topic. Would any of us stop playing our MMOs of choice, knowing that there are government spies all around watching our every move? Or does that just mean more noobs to bash in PvP?
The Think Tank: Which MMOs are you looking forward to the most in 2014?
Can you believe it's already December? This is the time of year when we reflect back on what we've played over the last 12 months and try to remember what's coming out in the next 12. We have some great titles to look forward to in 2014, including The Elder Scrolls Online, EQN Landmark, WildStar, and more. Since we've got a diverse team of MMO fans here on staff, I was curious about each writer's anticipated picks for the new year. Check out the answers just after the cut! And don't forget we'll do our official most-anticipated vote later on this month.
The Thank Tank: What are you most thankful for in the MMO genre?
Today is Thanksgiving Day in the USA. so it's only natural that we ask a thanks-related question for this week's Think Tank. As much as we, as a fanbase, like to be critical of our favorite genre, it's important to take some time to be thankful for what it is to us. So I asked the Massively team members what they're thankful for in MMOs. Grab a turkey leg dipped in cranberry sauce and stuffing (go ahead and double-dip; Uncle Leon won't mind) and follow along after the cut for our thoughts.
The Think Tank: Are non-combat sandbox tools a necessity in your MMO?
The RPG ingredient in our MMORPG sandwich has seemed to be dwindling away, but a few upcoming games -- and additions to existing ones -- are letting us know that RPG is back. One major element of the RPG is open control over how our story plays out. In true tabletop RPG style, sandbox tools let us play these games as we want to play them, but not all of us want that much freedom in our MMOs. So I asked the Massively team members for their thoughts on sandbox tools in their favorite MMOs. Are they welcome, or should we focus more on leaderboards and combat-based achievements? And how much exactly do they hate this question?
The Think Tank: What do you predict for this year's BlizzCon?
BlizzCon is back this year after a brief vacation in 2012, and Blizzard fans are bursting at the seams to find out what the studio has in store for the future. We have a handful of Blizzard fans on the Massively staff, so I thought I'd poke around and see what types of predictions we can get for the con. Will World of Warcraft announce a new expansion? Is the studio plotting a new game entirely? Or will cosplay be the only interesting aspect of the whole event?
The Think Tank: How are we celebrating Halloween this year?
Halloween is an iconic holiday in most MMOs. Costumes and things-that-go-bump-in-the-night are both staples of our favorite gaming hobby anyway, so a holiday is an added bonus. So how do the Massively writers celebrate Halloween in MMO-land? Do they grind for special promotional items or just enjoy the spooky new quests? Read on past the jump to find out more!
The Think Tank: Would you participate in an in-game protest?
In-game protests are nothing new, but the recent Dungeons and Dragons Online sit-in is the most recent proof that players can effectively organize in large numbers against policies they believe to be unfair. Like real-life protests, these demonstrations can work or be largely ignored by the powers-that-be. Have any Massively staffers participated in an in-game protest? How many feel that these types of demonstrations can actually be effective? These are the questions I posed to the team members this week.
The Think Tank: Do you believe in MMO reincarnation?
As living worlds, MMOs lend themselves to much more than just a simple shelf life. When they succeed, they can thrive; when they lose, they can lose it all. But some MMOs are returning from the dead lately, whether through a new publisher, as with APB: Reloaded, or through a complete redesign, as with Final Fantasy XIV. Further still, some games are enjoying renewed interest levels from players as game-changing expansions are being announced. So what does the Massively staff think of MMO reincarnation? Follow along after the jump to see!
The Think Tank: How long does it take you to judge an MMO?
About 3 years ago, I did a Soapbox article called "You have an hour to grab my attention." It was basically a little something for me to express how frustrated I was with the way MMOs were designed to push you through to the end and how players were falling for that whole "the fun starts at level 50" rigmarole. I still stand by that, and I believe a game should offer something enticing right away to keep potential customers going. Jef also wrote a Daily Grind about this topic last month where we got to hear your opinions on the matter, and I thought that it would be interesting to hear what the rest of the team thinks. It might be especially interesting considering the fact that we usually devote a bit more time to games as potential news or opinion articles rather than simply for gaming pleasure. Read on past the cut for our thoughts on time limits for MMO interest.
The Think Tank: Let's play armchair developers
Sometimes it's fun to imagine what we might do if given the chance to take over an MMO's development or community management teams for a month. Sure, a month might not be long in the scope of a game's development, but it might be long enough to get the ball rolling on some new and innovative ideas -- especially with a limitless budget. Hey, we're dreaming here, folks! So I asked the Massively team what they would do to their favorite MMO(s) if given the keys for a month.
The Think Tank: How do you feel about quick-leveling promotions?
With TERA's new level-58 boost for brand new characters, Guild Wars 2's automatic level 20 for new characters last month, and EverQuest II's upcoming free level-85 heroic characters, it seems that studios are finding new ways to push players through the early content and into the end game. Games like World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings Online have streamlined the starting zones, but these new promotional events are much more straightforward and obvious. So how does the Massively crew feel about this? Should this type of advancement be available only during special events? Should level boosters be rewards for veteran loyalty only? Do you consider double- and triple-XP weekends the same thing? Or is it all nonsense as we should all play these games as originally intended?
The Think Tank: How do you feel about community involvement with an MMO's development process?
A game's community has become more important to the development of modern MMOs as studios are paying more and more attention to what the players actually want versus what publishers want. This is evident in games like EVE Online with its player council, and Kickstarter has opened up a whole new avenue for the players to influence that dev process. But sometimes, that player influence isn't always for the best. In the famous words of poet John Lydgate, "You can't please all of the people all of the time." Yet many developers still try. So I threw the question out to the Massively staff to get some fresh opinions. Should we all be able to play the part of an armchair developer, or should we leave the design up to the paid designers?
The Think Tank: How do you define 'massive'?
I was passing out Massively t-shirts at a fan event a few year back when an arguably large man told the crowd that he probably shouldn't be wearing a shirt with the word "massive" on it. We all got a chuckle, but I don't think I would have defined him as massive before he made that comment. We asked for your opinions on the definition of the word "massive" as it pertains to massively multiplayer games, and the answers were both interesting and varied. So I thought it'd be a good idea to see what the Massively staff thinks of that debatable word. Follow along after the jump to see what we call massive.
The Think Tank: What motivates your MMO advancement?
We all have our motivations in life, whether they be ways to get better grades in school, make more money at our job, or finally catch up on last season's Breaking Bad on Netflix. Our favorite MMOs are no different, as motivation is a big part of succeeding, depending on your playstyle. So do you go for a higher spot on the leaderboards? Do you go for a higher achievement score than your friend? Will you keep killing that boss until he drops his pants for you? Er, leg armor drop, that is. What motivates the Massively team members to reach their MMO goals? Let's find out!
The Think Tank: How did you get into MMO blogging?
Contrary to popular belief, we at Massively didn't drop down from the heavens as the best MMO bloggers in the universe. We started small, on our own blogs, before making the leap to the neon lights and gold-plated yachts of Professional MMO Blogging. But where exactly did we get our starts? This week I asked the team members to share a bit about their individual origins in the MMO blogging world.
The Think Tank: How do you handle hype?
We all like to get excited for new stuff, right? A shiny new MMO is no exception, as it usually means new types of game mechanics, better graphics, and a fresh perspective on the genre. Usually. At Massively, we approach hype with a different filter. As gamers, we're usually excited by the new shines, but as MMO bloggers, we have to be realistic and often skeptical. But since each one of us is different, I decided to see what each staff member thought about handling hype.
The Think Tank: What goals do you have in your current MMOs?
If there's one thing our modern games do well, it's organize goals. We went from simple shoot-'em-ups and hack-'n'-slashes to micro-managing with leaderboards and tiered quest logs. This organization allows us to set finite goals and make the games all about achieving those goals. I asked the Massively staff members about their own goals they've set for themselves in the MMOs they play. Who's organized and who's scatterbrained? Read on past the cut to find out.
The Think Tank: What mistakes did you make when you first started in MMOs?
In a recent Daily Grind article, we recently asked you to tell us about mistakes you've made as an MMO noob. The reader response was so amusing that I thought it might be fun to pose the same question to the Massively staff. Which one of us deleted characters without cleaning them out first? Which one of us picked skills based on how cool they sounded? Which one of us thought NPCs were real players? Find out in our embarrassing confessionals just after the jump.
The Think Tank: Which MMO can you just not bring yourself to delete?
Whether it's a closed MMO icon still taking up space on your desktop or a free-to-play game that you "might play again one day," there's bound to be at least one MMO that you just can't bring yourself to delete from your hard drive. Since many of Massively's writers are MMO hoarders (we can stop at any time!), I felt it was fitting to take some time aside and work out our issues with separation and letting go. Hold my hand and breathe normally while we tell you which games will always maintain a special place in our hearts (and on our PCs).
The Think Tank: Do you play single-player games as well as MMOs?
As gamers, most of us enjoy a wide variety of game genres. The social interaction of an MMO is great, but sometimes you just want to hide in the corner of a single-player game and forget that the healer in that raid PUG today didn't heal or that XxXGrImReApErYoLo420XxX is better at PlanetSide 2 than you are. Since everyone on the Massively staff is obviously an expert in the field of MMOs, I thought it might be interesting to pick the writers' brains and find out what single-player games (and features of those games) they also enjoy.
